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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — to drop
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — letters
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. drill — the tool
  14. capital — money
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — a law
  20. spell — a short time
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. root — of a word
  23. fall — to drop
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com